The Call of the Dead
by Trooper 3.6
Summary: When the apocalypse begins, the Texan High School student David McCall, fights to survive and to return to Japan where he lived as an exchange student. As the world is thrown into chaos, he sets out to find the woman he loves in Tokyo Japan. His two loyal brothers and his friends travel with him as he embarks on an odyssey for love that will lead into the jaws of death.
1. Chapter 1

Author's notes: Hello everyone. I've know I have a lot of other epic unfinished stories out there and I'll finish them when I can but I'm busy being a college student so you guys will just have to be patient with me. Here is one I've been planning for a long time. A cross over between Call of Juarez and High School of the dead, that is to say the two story lines exist in the same world but have very little to do with each other; one of the protagonists of the third game in the COJ series will appear in the story and the protagonists will share the family name McCall, but other than that the game series itself has nothing to do with this story. Enjoy and please review. Disclaimer: I don't own High School of the Dead or any of its characters, nor do I own the character Ben McCall, so please don't sue me.

THE NIGHT BEFORE Z-DAY, SAN ANTONIO TX

David McCall exited the mini-van with his mom and dad. They had been mostly quiet through the ride, but there wasn't much to talk about. David really didn't want to tell them about what had happened in Japan and why he had to leave. His mom and dad had been especially disturbed that he had been expelled from the school without any official disciplinary report. David had promised them he hadn't done anything wrong, and he could tell they believed him but still wanted to know. It wasn't every day that a McCall left Texas let alone the US; especially to be an exchange student in Tokyo Japan.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about what happened, sugar cube?" asked his mother as she climbed out the car. The concern on her voice was loud and clear. David sighed; she was just going to nag him until he cracked.

"Tomorrow morning, mom, I promise I'll tell you then," he said, trying not to sound like he was whining.

"Oh, don't hen peck the boy, darling," said his father, the reverend Sam McCall. "We have him for the rest of the spring and summer; tonight we're celebrating the return of our prodigal son," he went on as he walked around the car to place his arm on David's shoulder. "Well son, we're glad to have you back. If Japan don't want you, you can be sure we do. Now come on, we got celebrating to do," he finished and began leading David toward the front door of the Hungry Texan; the family's favorite saloon. Mrs. McCall was soon on the other side of David, her arm overlapping with her husband's as they walked toward the front door. David was confused that the lights of the saloon were all off; it was only 9 PM. His dad had insisted that they go out to celebrate with drinks, David was only 18, but at times like this his dad would just say "I won't tell if you won't." David was feeling a little down that his older brother's weren't home. Buck was a Texas Ranger, away on an assignment and Jim, a soldier in the US Army, wasn't due back from his tour of duty for a few more months.

David had only been back in town for two days, having first spent a few weeks with his uncle Ben; an LA police detective. Uncle Ben had driven him all the way from LA, along with most of his belongings; something terrible had happened on an assignment and he couldn't bear to stay on the force. David had told Uncle Ben what had happened in Tokyo on the long drive home to San Antonio, Ben had just silently nodded and patted him on the shoulder. David figured Ben understood what he was going through. Uncle Ben had called in a favor and had been accepted into the Texas Rangers just yesterday. He would be meeting them at the saloon, but now it appeared to be closed.

"Don't worry about the lights being off and all," said Rev. McCall. "I had a talk with Mr. Douglas, he gave me the keys and said we could stay as late as we like," he explained and drew a key chain from his pocket. They approached the door, Rev. McCall unlocked it and opened it into darkness. "After you Davy," he motioned David in with a smile. David gave a half smile, his father had always called him that as a nod to Davy Crockett; a hero of the Alamo, which stood on the other end of town. It annoyed David, he had always preferred to be called David; just like Davy Crockett himself. David stepped into the darkness.

"Where's the light switch?" David asked.

"I got em," replied his father from behind. In an instant the lights went on.

"SURPRISE!" David jerked backwards and nearly fell over. Everyone was in the saloon! Uncle Ben, his sisters (Lynn and Kate), his old friends (Mikey, Matty, Jason, Phil, Jacky-Boy, Remy, and Kyle), his cousins, his uncles, aunts, grandparents, and his brothers; Buck and Jim. He noticed Buck was wearing the Texas Rangers cap, which he had been wearing since long before he became a ranger. Jim was wearing his old cowboy hat, he always tried to be as Texan as possible. They were all clapping and cheering. It was a welcome home party. David was overwhelmed, he had worried his mother with how gloomy he had been since he arrived, now he couldn't escape it. A blinding smile spread across his face. He was Home!

Buck and Jim were the first ones to step forward. They embraced David, who had to strain himself not to cry. As the noise died down Buck explained that there was no assignment, he had just gotten back from an assignment when Uncle Buck and David pulled into the driveway at the house. He told mom and dad not to tell David and ducked out the back door where he'd parked his truck and drove off to plan the surprise party. Jim explained that he was no longer in the army; in his words "The President had decided to just dismiss a certain number of soldiers prior to the end of their enlistment terms, so he could pretend to be trying to save money while he bails out crooked corporations with tax payer's money," everyone got a good laugh out of that. Mikey, the son of a licensed arms deal approached him next an arm extended, followed closely by Matty, the son of a wealthy Oil-Man, he shook David's hand heartily while holding a video camera in the other hand. Next came Jason, an aspiring lawyer and out-spoken left-wing politician. David would playfully call him names like Stalin and Mao in High School, but was so glad to see him now he didn't think he'd ever call him such names again. Phil came next, a heavy metal enthusiast with and bushy mustache. Jacky-Boy came next, he got his name from his fixation on playing his Game-Boy. Even as he extended a hand to shake his, David could see his Game-Boy secure in his left hand. Then came Remy, who had always acted the part of the punk but secretly had ambitions to be a scientist. And finally Kyle came to shake his hand, he had already graduated and had just graduated EMT school; was now working for the San Antonio Fire Department. Between his brothers, his friends and the rest of the family, it was the happiest David had been in weeks.

The bar tender started serving up drinks and was careful not to ask for ID cards. David told them about some of the friends he had made back in Tokyo, being careful not to mention her. Buck told him about his run-ins with cartel gunmen, and Jim talked about his tour in Iraq. After some beers, his brothers asked if he'd made any "lady-friends"; the question he wasn't looking forward to, Matty hovered around obnoxiously with the camera. But he'd had a few pints and was mellowed out so he went as far as saying that there was this one girl he took a liking to but he'd lost contact with her when he left. Neither his brothers nor the guys were happy with that answer but they could tell it was the only answer they'd get.

David downed a few more pints, then he noticed a flier on the bar. A martial arts tournament in downtown San Antonio, David had seen other fliers for the event throughout the city but this one was brand new and dated for the next day. It read that a kendo master, Master Busujima, was attending as a special guest; the man's photo was printed on the flier. It was him, the man he had last spoken to outside the man's house in Tokyo. The bastard who wouldn't let him say goodbye to her, who threatened him and forbade him from ever contacting her… David picked up the flier, he didn't realizes how shaky his hands were as he picked it up, nor how badly he staggered as he made his way to the bathroom. He didn't even hear the voices of his friends and family members as they called to him and asked him if he was okay. His eyes were fixed on the photo, his eyes locked with those of the kendo master. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the bathroom mirror. He pressed the flier to the glass with his left hand, flexed and fisted his right. He brought his fist forward into the bastard's face with all his might. The mirror shattered with a crash as loud as the roar of anger he let out as he swung his fist. David stumbled backward against one of the stalls. The flier fell to the floor; the face of the kendo master was smeared with blood. For a moment David felt the satisfaction that he had hurt the man who caused him so much pain; the man who had briefly instructed him on kendo, the man who was to blame for his exile from Japan, the man who took her away from him. After a few seconds he felt the sharp pain in his right hand, his knuckles were bleeding.

"David!" his mother's voice eccoed through the bathroom. She was instantly at his side, taking his bloodied hand into hers. "Get a doctor!" she yelled.

"It's alright, I've got this," the voice of Kyle said from the doorway. After a few moments Kyle was beside him with a first-aid kit, wrapping up his hand. Once Kyle was done, David staggered to his feet. He felt his mother's arm on his back, as if she thought at any moment he would fall backwards.

"I'm fine," David managed, his head was swimming. "I got the bastard," he went on in a daze. Everyone's voices were distant and faint.

"Damn it, Sam! I told you it was a bad idea to let him drink!" Mrs. McCall's voice eccoed in David's mind.

"I thought a night out would do him some good!" his father replied with just as much anger. David wanted to tell them both to calm down, but he couldn't find the words.

"He'll be fine, Mrs. McCall," Kyle reassured. "It's not much more than a scratch."

"He's just scratched, but that mirror will never be the same again!" Buck laughed.

"I don't get it, he's never gotten this way from drinking before. What the hell is the matter with him?" Jim asked.

"I know what it is," Ben's voice range through David's ears, the man was loud. "It's that flier from the bar, he recognizes the name on it."

"The kendo master?" asked Jim. "What makes you say that?" Uncle Ben gave a loud sigh.

"It has to do with what happened back in Tokyo," he said. "I promised I wouldn't tell anybody, ask him when he sobers up."

"Well I think its best we call it a night and get him home," Rev. McCall said.

"No, I don't wana go!" David said as he staggered forward. "I'm fine!" he insisted.

"Mrs. McCall," said Mikey. "Me and Kyle haven't been drinking, we could just drive him out to the usual spot and just hang out with him a while until he sobers up, Buck and Jim can come along if they want," he offered.

"The usual spot? You mean the Alamo?" asked Buck. "Well hell that sounds like a plan, I'm up for it."

"Same here," said Jim. "Come on little brother, let's get you out to Mikey's big red tank," he joked. David's vision returned. He was now being lead toward Mikey's one-ton red pick-up truck. His father had bought it for him as an early graduation present. Buck and Jim were practically carrying him, both were bigger than him. David was about 5 foot nine, Jim was 5 – 11, Buck was 6 feet and three inches tall. David felt pathetic in their arms, but his head was still swimming, so he said nothing. In a few seconds he was riding shotgun beside Mikey. He heard Buck and Jim in the back seats of the truck. "We'll sober him up and see yall tomorrow for lunch," Jim said out the window. David's world faded into darkness as he felt the movement of large tires beneath him. As he drifted away his mind shifted to her…

A FEW WEEKS EARLIER, TOKYO JAPAN

David stood at the entrance to her house, a large traditional Japanese arch stood above the break in the brink wall around the house, which was practically a mansion. Unlike the last time he'd been there, there were two guards in suits blocking his way, both were armed with wooden kendo swords. They both looked mean, it was Busujima's doing.

"Look, I'm just here to say goodbye to Saeko," said David, masking his anger as best as he could.

"You will do nothing of the sort," the voice of Master Busujima called out. The two guards moved to show Busujima walking up from the door of the house. He was wearing traditional Japanese clothing, as usual, and wore a katana on his belt. He stopped just behind the two guards and looked at David pointedly. "You are forbidden from entering my house, you will neither call nor email Saeko. If you do I will see to it that the school puts you down for expulsion for disciplinary reasons, and I will see to it that you are never granted permission to enter Japan again," he said firmly. "I have told Saeko to change her email and phone number as well. You were a good student Mr. McCall, but you have dishonored her and so have dishonored me."

"Look, all we did was go out together," David tried to explain.

"She did not come home that night, you admitted she spent the night in your apartment," he answered, his tone was firm but didn't betray any anger.

"She slept on the couch! We didn't do anything!" David insisted. It was mostly true, he had fallen asleep beside her but that didn't seem to be an important detail at the time. Busujima looked at him thoughtfully.

"I believe you, Mr. McCall," he said, his expression didn't change. "But it makes no difference. My daughter is the heir to the Busujima family, she has a responsibility to the family and must focus on her studies and must behave according to tradition."

"You mean she can't be seen, walking around with a Gai Jing?" David demanded, his anger boiling. He balled his fists and gripped them with all his might. Busujima's expression didn't change.

"Take my words as you like, but you will not enter this house. And you will neither see nor speak to Saeko again," replied Busujima. David's anger boiled over, his eyes blazed with rage and he forgot all about the two guards.

"You son of a bitch!" he growled, taking a step forward. "I'll…" before he could finish, the two guards lurched forward and brought their wooden swords down hard on him. David fell painfully to the ground. He looked up to see one of the swords coming down on his face. The force of the impact made him dizzy, his ears began to ring. But he heard the loud voice of Busujima calling over the ringing. He was shouting at the two guards, he told them what they did was unnecessary. They both apologized in Japanese. David's right eye was now swollen. But he could still see. Busujima pushed past the guards, knelt down, grabbed David's arm and helped him to his feet. David pushed him back in anger. "Get your damn hands off of me!" Busujima lurched back as if struck but said nothing. David felt blood flowing down from above his eye. "This ain't right!" he said gasping for breath.

"Be that as it may, it is how things are, Mr. McCall," said Busujima. "The land you come from is very diverse and many different cultures make up the whole," he explained. "But Japan is different, since the beginning it has always been the same, one culture and one people; alone against the world. To this day, there have been few if any legal immigrations; tourism but not immigration. This is who we are and who we must continue to be; even Saeko." David could barely control himself.

"If that were true then why don't you let me say goodbye to Saeko?" he asked, Busujima said nothing. "It's not who she is, it's what you are! You wanna live in your self-made prison of isolation then fine," said David. "But don't keep her locked in with you!"

"Goodbye, Mr. McCall," said Busujima. The kendo master turned and began to walk back toward the house.

"Wait!" David called out. Busujima stopped and turned. David knelt beside his large airport back, which he'd left on the ground. He unzipped it and reached in, a moment later he pulled out his own wooden kendo sword. Saeko had given it to him as a gift. He brought up the sword and took a combat stance. "We have our own traditions in Texas, Mr. Busujima," he growled. "I challenge you to a duel!" he shouted. Busujima looked at him in silence for several seconds.

"Saeko and I taught you well," said Busujima. "But not that well," he said. The master turned and continued walking toward the house.

"Face me, you coward!" David shouted and took a step forward. The two guards brought up their own practice swords and took combat stances. But they didn't attack. Busujima stopped near the front door, he turned around.

"Your anger is understandable, Mr. McCall," he said. "But you are not ready."

"I say that's a convenient excuse for a washed out old man!" David roared. Busujima's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

"Go home, Mr. McCall," he said. "You do not understand our culture." He turned to the door.

"Maybe not, but I understand Saeko!" David shouted. "She told me what happened to her, four years ago! Caging her won't help her!" he finished. Busujima proceeded through the front door, shutting it behind him. David's heart sank, he knew it was over. He wanted to do something. To charge into the two guards, return their favor. To run up to the door, break it down and give the Busujima no choice but to fight him. But he knew that wouldn't fix anything. Busujima was connected to Japanese government politicians, the faculty of the school and the police. Even if he did beat Busujima, which he probably wouldn't, Saeko thought the world of him. David had been fond of the man until he received word that he was being expelled from the school. They said it was due to a potential scandal. He pressured them for the real reason, one of them, a snake with thin glasses, told him he should have been careful who he went on dates with. That was when he knew it was Busujima's doing. David knew there was nothing he could do. He hated that he was helpless; he hated Busujima, the school, the whole country. But the worst part of it was not even being allowed to say goodbye to the girl he loved. He turned grabbed his airport bag and began walking down the sidewalk, the wooden sword still clenched tightly in his right hand. As he walked he struck the brick wall, then struck it again, and again. He then brought up the sword and brought it down on the wall with all his might. The sword broke in half, scattering splinters in all directions. David cried out in rage.

A FEW WEEKS LATER, SAN ANTONIO TX (Z-Day, 3 AM)

David awoke to a beautiful starry sky. He heard voices nearby and recognized them as his brothers and his friends. Mikey and Jason were arguing as usual.

"I'm telling you dude, you think its perpetually the mid 1800s!" Mikey groaned.

"All I'm saying is stereotypes and racism is still a problem in this country!" Jason insisted. "Even when we don't mean for it to be. You realize I'm basically the token black guy of this group, right?" he said.

"Really, dude!" exclaimed Mikey. "That's taking it a bit too far!" David sat up and noticed that he was laying in the back of the pick-up truck. Kyle's car was parked behind the truck, the head lights were on, lighting up the area around the cars. David soon recognized where he was, they were parked right outside the Alamo. This had been a favorite hang-out spot for him and his friends, sometimes his brothers would join them.

"All right settle down there people," Jim's voice called out, trying to pacify the brewing storm between Mikey and Jason. "Let's try not to make this place a battlefield again."

"Ah come on, brother," Buck's voice called out. "Listening to these two bickering was just getting interesting." David sighed.

"Same old, same old," he thought. He climbed off the back of the truck and saw they guys sitting on some benches, they had obviously moved closer together than they were. They were sitting about twenty yards away from the entrance to the old mission-turned-fort-turned museum.

"Well, look who's up?" Buck called out when he saw David. "Rise and shine cupcake!" he said and gulped down a swig from a beer bottle.

"David!" the rest of the guys all cheered.

"Hey there little brother," said Jim. "You doin alright? You kicked that mirror's ass back at the bar." David looked down at his right hand. It was wrapped in bandages. It didn't hurt, but he could vaguely remember it hurting. He looked back up at the guys with an awkward smile.

"Yeah, I guess I got a little carried away back there," said David. "How long was I out?"

"It's three o'clock in the AM right now," Mikey answered with a brief look at his watch. David blinked, he was out for over 4 hours.

"You wanna talk about what's been eatin ya?" asked Buck with a belch.

"Yeah, man," said Phil. "Let us in on it."

"Yeah, what's your beef with Master Busujima?" asked Matty as he steadied the camera. "I looked the guy up while you were out. They guy is some upscale martial artist. He left a Japanese self-defense convention early just to come down here and for a surprise visit. Did you guys have a run-in or something?"

"Take it easy, Matty," said Mikey. "Look man, you've been talking in your sleep," he went on. "You said something about a duel, you tossed and turned around in your seat-belt and moaned something about a psycho."

"Saeko," David corrected. "It's a girl's name," he explained. The guys all made a judicial whistling noise.

"So you did find yourself a girl over there?" asked Buck. David sighed.

"Come on, man. Let's hear it," said Jason. The rest of the group said the same; except of course for Jacky-boy, who was plugging away at his game-boy. But David knew he was listening to every word.

"Come on, brother," said Jim. "It might make you feel better to talk about it." Jim motioned to the last empty spot at the end of the bench he sat on. David swallowed hard. It was time to fess up. He had probably freaked them all out back at the saloon. And they did stick with him and took him to his favorite spot in all of San Antonio. He sat down beside them and told them the whole story. He had met Saeko on the first day of the fall semester. It was a real cute story about running into her in the hallway and making her drop all her books and helping her pick them up. He'd introduced himself, she'd returned the favor. He asked her about the wooden sword on her belt. She explained she was a leader of the kendo club. David had heard of kendo before and was always curious about it. He went to a kendo club meeting and was instantly hooked. Saeko decided to instruct him personally. The more time they spent together and getting to know each other, they more they liked each other. She even arranged for him to meet with and train with her father, Master Busujima. He seemed to be a natural at kendo. It became clear to both of them that they wanted to go out together but decided it was best not to let her father know. He was very traditional. They went out of a few dates, karaoke clubs, a carnival, ice skating (teaching her to ice skate was a challenge). But by the end of winter someone in the faculty had found out about their secret dates and reported it to Busujima. The man used his influence to arrange David's removal from the school and deportation back to the US. The bastard wouldn't even let him say goodbye to her. On their first date the two of them ended up going into his apartment and fell asleep together on the couch (clothed; which inspired a collective groan from the guys). The next morning they woke up together, that was when he kissed her for the first time. He knew from then on that he was in love with her, but he never told her and she never said how she felt about him. And now he was exiled from Japan and the bastard who made it happen was somewhere in the city.

"Well that's the bullshit!" Mikey said after David finished.

"Do you have any written letters from him or recordings, or anything that could be prove that he used political corruption against you?" asked Jason, as always leaping at a chance to act like a lawyer. David shook his head.

"Ah, that blows man!" exclaimed Matty.

"Somehow, I had a feeling this all had to do with a girl," said Jim with a sigh. He patted David on the back.

"The man is in town, isn't he?" asked Jacky-Boy, not looking up from his game boy. "Why don't we all just go and kick the old geezer's ass?" by which, of course, he meant the rest of the guys would kick Busujima's ass while he waited in the corner and played his game boy.

"There's an idea!" Matty jumped to his feet. "Let's go on down to the convention tomorrow and confront the guy! Maybe Saeko will be there too!" David's heart jumped, he didn't think Saeko would be there with him, but it was possible.

"Cool it kids," said Jim, he always loved throwing his weight around when hanging with David, he was four years older; so that was easy to do. "Let's all just pretend for a minute that we're not a bunch of loud-mouth hillbillies."

"This is Texas, brother," said Buck. "Everyone's a hillbilly around here," he said with another swig from his beer bottle.

"Come on guys!" Matty insisted. "Let's do this! Go confront the guy and if Saeko isn't here, we fly to Japan and you can tell her how you feel! It'll be like a vacation!"

"Are you kidding me man?" said Mikey. "Spring break is over. We start class tomorrow."

"Come on, you guys!" Matty insisted. "A lot of people are going to take tomorrow off for the convention anyway. And this is our senior year, we rule the school! We're just about to head off into the adult world, we need to grab the world by the throat and take what we want from it!" he continued, he seemed to be on a roll. "David, we know you better than anyone. We know you're more than worthy to be with his Saeko, American or not! I say you should go over there tomorrow morning and challenge the bastard again, in public! The old goat won't be able to resist. You kick his ass, demand the right to see Saeko and that he undo what he did to keep you out of Japan, then we all go for lunch to celebrate, hope an overnight flight to Tokyo, walk straight into that high school find her and tell her how you feel! And I'll bet she feels exactly the same!" Matty finished and took a swig of beer. The group was silent. David loved the idea, he was impressed with Matty, the guy was usually pretty awkward but that speech was epic! "And then of course you'll introduce us and ask if she has any friends for us," he threw in as an after-thought. The whole group erupted into laughter.

"Tempting," David said thoughtfully. "But I would of course have to beat the guy and he is pretty good. I've seen him fight."

"Come on, man. Think positive!" said Matty.

"Of course, we could just walk on in there put a gun to the bastards head and tell him you're seeing his daughter whether he likes it or not," said Buck, bringing up his finger like a gun.

"You're drunk," Jim rolled his eyes.

"I'm getting there," replied Buck.

"I think we should do it," said Mikey. "And why not! What's the worst thing that can happen?" David was convinced.

"Alright let's do it!" David shouted, jumping to his feet. The group all cheered. They were all fired up, like volunteers ready to march off to war. A part of David couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. Maybe it was because they were all fired up and ready for battle right in front of a place where hundreds of other young men made a stand against impossible odds and were slaughtered. David quickly shook that Idea from his mind and joined the guys in cheering. Matty pulled a beer out of a cooler and handed it to David, he accepted it, popped it open with his belt and took a long swig. Tomorrow would be a big day.


	2. Chapter 2

Z DAY: San Antonio, Texas

David awoke with two empty beer bottles in his lap and a bass drum pounding inside his head. He'd had some bad hangovers before, but this one was a new record. He stumbled to his feet to see his friends and brothers sprawled out on other nearby benches, some of them on the grass. He moaned as the throbbing took a turn for the worst.

"What time is it?" David asked no one in particular.

"Time for you to get a watch," replied Jacky-boy, who sat up on his bench and immediately pulled his Gameboy out of his pocket. Even a hangover couldn't come between him and that damn thing. A few other moans and groans told David that the others were waking up.

"I swear I'm never drinking again!" Phil groaned, in one of his finer moments of self-deception.

"You guys are a bunch of light-weight lushes," said Jacky-boy, not seeming at all affected by the late night of binge drinking. Mornings after never seemed too bad for Jacky. Either he was immune to alcohol, or that damn game-boy had a deeper hold on his mind then everyone thought.

David looked up into the morning sky. It was still morning but the sun was high, they had all slept in. David sighed as his brain continued to throb. He stretched himself out, his muscle aches went away, not his headache. David silently wished a zombie would come and eat his brains. That was when he saw the girl.

A black girl, who David guessed was at least his age, was staggering towards the group along the side of the road. She was wearing a football jersey with extremely short shorts; the kind his father and mother would often complain about, but he couldn't blame women for, considering how hot it would get in Texas. The girl's skin was dark but seemed a shad lighter than it should be; pale and sickly, like a cadaver in a hospital. She staggered, and almost limped, towards him with vacant, sad eyes and her mouth hanging open; faint moans coming from it.

David gulped hard. For a moment he thought his wish had somehow come true. Numerous video games and movies flashed through his mind. Was this it? Had it finally happened? Society's worst nightmare conjured into existence by collective imagination? Is it a virus? Rabies? Brain fungus? Demonic possession? Voodoo? David squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, assuring himself that it couldn't be real, he had to still be drunk. Or maybe it was the hangover going to his head and making him see things. He opened his eyes and she was still there, inching closer and closer to him. Her eyes not even seeming to notice him.

"Holy shit!" Buck gasped next to David, making him jump. He looked at his brother, whose eyes were as fixated and intense as his had been a moment ago. His face suddenly twisted into a smile as he returned David's gaze. "She is drunk as hell!" he finished with a roar of laughter.

David sighed deeply and instantly began laughing. He was so grateful he hadn't said any of what he'd been thinking aloud. What an idiot! Freaking out and thinking the world had become a survival horror game at the sight of a girl walking of a binge drinking party! Buck patted him on the back and put a little of his crushing weight on his little brother.

"Well somebody didn't designate a driver!" Matty's booming voice rang up from the ground.

"Yeah, shoulda cut yourself off sooner, Honey," said Jim, now on his feet.

"Kyle," Mikey groaned from his bench. "You might wanna have a look at that girl, she looks sick," he finished, rubbing his eyes. Kyle, face down in the grass, moaned in acknowledgement, but may not have heard all of it.

"Damn!" Matty gasped, almost whining. "She looks like a zombie, almost." David repressed a laugh. "I'm gonna record this!" Matty said excitedly as he broke out his video camera.

"Okay come on take it easy you guys!" said David, "She might need help." The girl seemed to shift her directionless staggering towards David.

"Oh!" said Buck. "Looks like the lady's taken a likin towards you little brother. Maybe you ought to just forget about you little Psycho and get in on with her…" He finished with a wink. David rolled his eyes. Buck could come off as sleazy, sometimes, but he could tell when he was just fooling around. The girl closed in on David, her moaning grew louder.

"Okay, seriously miss," David began. "My relationship status is kind of up for," the girl cut him off, tackling him to the ground. He landed on his back with a yelp and laughed awkwardly as the girl moaned and palmed, pathetically at him. "Guys get her off of me!" David shouted, trying to suppress laughter; the poor girl was really wasted. He was annoyed to hear the round of laughter from his brothers and friends.

"Go on ahead there, little brother," Buck called out. "Show her a good time! Make her forget all about the hang over, I'm sure Psycho won't mind!" David wasn't sure if he should be more annoyed with the girl, the jokes and laughter, or his brother mispronouncing Saeko's name. He felt a movement next to him and could tell Matty was kneeling at his side, preserving the moment for posterity with his video camera. David was soon straining himself to hold her up, her moaning became less miserable and more hostile. He looked up into her eyes and the smile disappeared from his face and his breath stopped in his lungs. Her eys were truly dead; they were bloodshot, focused on nothing, and looked extremely dry (almost like powder). His hand was on her collarbone trying to hold her up; her skin was cold and dry to the touch. But what really made him hold his breath was her breath, stank to high heaven. No, not beer, not whiskey, tequila, or even vomit. It smelled like rotting flesh, like a family of dead rats his brothers and him had once found in an old cargo container in a junkyard. Just remembering the smell would make David gag. Now he was smelling it for real, coming from the lungs of what should have been a girl in the prime of her youth. She wasn't drunk. Something was really wrong.

"Holy shit!" Matty gasped beside him. David looked to see Matty aiming the camera up into her eyes. Matty saw what he saw.

"Get her off me!" David roared, filling his voice with rage to cover the intense fear pulsing through him. He fought to keep his first impression of the girl from entering his mind again. It couldn't be! Moments later his brothers and Matty all intervened to get the girl off him.

"Beat it, bitch!" Buck growled, recognizing the fear in his little brother's voice. "No means no! Read a damn law book!" he said as he roughly shoved the girl backwards to the ground. David scrambled to his feet, panting for breath, fighting the putrid smell of her breath from his nostrils. Matty and Jim beside him.

"Did you see her eyes, man!" Matty gasped. "What the hell is wrong with her eyes?" The rest of the gang had rallied behind David, all looking with shock and wonder at the stiffly moving girl as she painfully struggled to her feet. Buck stood over her, daring her to get up.

"I'm warning you, bitch," Buck snarled. "Stay down, or go back where you came from!" David could sense Buck's tenseness, it wasn't just his less-than-gentleman language, he'd never been one for manners or etiquette. It was Buck's stance, he was in his fighting stance; strong foot back, and fists tightened like steel bolts. For all his faults, Buck had never abided violence against women, and now he stood ready to put the girl face-down in the dirt; like so many bullies on the playground who thought they could steal David's lunch money. Buck knew something was wrong with the girl, David could tell.

The girl was on her feet again. In a burst of energy she jolted towards Buck with alarming speed. Not fast enough.

"Piss off!" Buck roared in unison with the crack of his titanium fist into the girl's nose. She stumbled backwards until heels hit a fallen phone line. She fell backwards and landed with a geyser of blood spraying high. The eyes of the entire gang widened, even Jacky-boy, who managed to drop his game-boy in shock. The girl had been impaled on a rebar, jutting out of a concrete slab in the ditch beside the road. They all stood in silence, gazing horrified at the grizzly image. She wasn't moving.

Jim broke the silence. "God Dammit, Buck!" he bellowed. "What they hell were you thinking?" Buck stared blankly at the corpse. "Were you thinking at all?"

"What was I supposed to do, little brother?" Buck snapped. "Just stand there while some mad-woman attacks my brother, then gives me a try?"

"We're Rangers, dammit!" replied Jim. "You got your cuffs! That's what we do when people start trouble, Buck."

"Oh sure," said Buck, rolling his shoulders in an exaggerated shrug. "Let's just do that! Two white cops slappin the cuffs on some drunk teenaged black girl on the first day of school after spring break! I can see the headlines now, 'racist rangers ravage helpless black girl,' we'll be on the evening news! It'd been both our stars for it, especially with this black power pinko over her!" Buck flicked his finger carelessly towards Jason.

"Whoa, whoa!" Jason jumped in. "Why is this all of a sudden about me?"

"Well ain't it always?" Buck asked. "Bet this will be the opportunity of your lifetime, getting to witness something like that, having something to go to your school paper about and tell your fellow students and your obliging left-wing teachers how evil and bigoted American Lawmen are and how you got to see em man-handle one of your sisters!"

"Hey, both of you take it easy!" shouted Mikey, positioning himself between the two. Both ignored him.

"As opposed to seeing a ranger impale a black girl on a spit!" Jason shouted.

"I didn't see the damn rebar! Dammit!" yelled Buck, his voice trembling with anger, transparently masking regret. "I saw a crazed teenager who looked like she was infected with rabies coming at me like she'd bite my damn jugular, so I took a swing at her. I could, by rights have pulled my iron on her!"

"She had no gun!"

"She assaulted an officer of the law!"

David listened to all the idiotic shouting and arguing, his gaze still locked on the girl, who by now was no longer impaled on the rebar. She struggled to her feet and lurched free of the metal bar, no screams of pain, no begging for help, or even moaning any louder than before. David wanted to scream to his brothers, but couldn't find the words. It couldn't be.

"Guys!" Matty's voice boomed over the argument. The video camera shaking in his hand. Silence returned as the gang's gaze returned to the girl, now limping towards them again.

"No, way in hell!" gasped Buck. The senior Texas Ranger drew his .45 automatic. "Freeze!" he roared. The girl continued towards him, didn't even pause. "I said Freeze!" the girl was inching closer. If it had been a man, Buck would have shot by now. David had seen him in action before. The girl staggered on ward, gasping her guttural moan. David tripped over his words until they finally came out.

"SHOOT HER!"

Buck squeezed the trigger. The explosion of the gunshot sent a ripple of force through the entire gang, they all jerked back, accept for the McCall brothers. The bullet ripped through her chest, sending her flying backwards. Her chest almost seemed to have exploded from within. A .45 bullet was a killer, all the McCall brothers had been taught, Mikey too. Silence followed the gunshot, dead silence. No one spoke a word, even as the girl began to climb back to her feet. David's breath caught in his lungs again. It couldn't be!

The girl began a slower, more painful, slog towards Buck. Out of the corner of his eye, David thought he saw Buck's gun shaking in his hand. Instants later Buck fired again. This time at her head. The bullet entered her forehead, right between the eyes and exploded out the back. She stopped in her tracks and fell limp to the ground. The gang stood in silence for what could have been minutes or hours. This time she didn't get back up.

It was! It couldn't be, but it was! As if David had summoned it from nothingness from his mind! There was no other way to explain it, no rationalization, no logical explanation, and no denying it. It was a zombie! They had been attacked by a Zombie!

"What is this not normal?" Jacky-boy broke the silence. No one said a word. "Tough crowd." he sighed.

A faint buzzing sound was heard in the silence. No, not buzzing. Moaning. Dozens if not hundreds of voices moaning in unison. No, not in unison, but together. Like a swarm of bees, not moaning to a united harmony, but a mass of people moaning their own hodgepodge of misery. David, along with the rest of the gang turned their attention down the road in the direction the girl came from. They saw another girl limping towards them, then a young man, then a man in coveralls with a construction helmet. Further back they saw a gaggle of teenaged girls in bikinis, along with a group of young black men dressed for the ghetto, beside them a bunch of jocks in football jerseys. Further back a local Sherriff deputy, and what looked like a housewife in a robe. All of them moaning the same desperate and miserable moan as the girl, all of them looked directionless and stiff in their step, and all of them looked pale and lifeless. And there were more behind them.

"Um, guys?" said Mikey. "I think we should, maybe… GET THE HELL OUTA HERE!" he finished shouting. David and the rest scampered hysterically to the nearest car. Mikey's dad's one ton big red. Buck, David, Jim and Matty leapt over the side into the back. The others scurried into the side doors as fast as they could.

"Head for our house, we need to get Dad and Ben!" Buck shouted at the top of his lungs. Mikey started the engine and the truck bolted away from the fort with the loud roar of the engine. David was trembling, it was real. It was happening. It was a genuine Zombie Apocalypse!


End file.
